Lather machine



Feb. 9, 1943. L. J. W... 2,310,378

LATHER MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l fizz/621257 Z ea Jh/fiz L. J. WAHL LATHER MACHINE Filed Dec. so, 1940 1! 4- Feb. 9, 1943.

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l I l i u I I l I k l I u l I 4| L. J.WAHL' LATHER MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1940 Feb. 9, 1943.

Feb. 9, 1943; 1.. J. WAHL LATHER MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1940 4sheets-sheet ""lnllllllllllrllli" "IIIIIIIIIIIIII Patented Feb. 9, 1943UETED STTES rear :QFFJQE LATHER MACHINE Illinois Application December30, 1940, Serial No. 372,301

Claims.

bar shall comprise relatively few simple moving (parts.

The present invention contemplates as a preferred form a device whereina rotary soap engaging member is mounted in a housing and the soap barrides on the member, said soap bar being guided by a shell or tube sothat it is pressed against the rotary member by the force of gravity. Ifnecessary, added weight is used to back up the soap bar so that all ofthe soap may be removed by the member simply rotating against the underside of the bar. An extra bar of soap over the active bar maybesuilicient.

The rotary member preferably is driven directly by another rotary memberwhich, in certain forms of the invention, is used to aidin mixing airand water with the soap to produce a lather. Liquid supply means is ofcourseprovided and there is an outlet from the housing; through whichthe lather is discharged.

A-specific object of the invention is to provide a novel soap removingand mixing means for use with a barofsoap, which means comprises asponge-like roller on hich the soap bar rides, together with a driveelement which turns the roller and at the same time aids in making theair, water and soap intolather. The combination of a rotatingspongerubber roller'with a scraper pl roller that compresses the sponge rollerworks very well with liquid soap. The invention contemplates such acornbination whether the sponge is rotated by the scraper roller'orseparately.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide in alather makingmachine of the character,

described a power driven mixer in combination with a liquid supplymeansand a novel control for the mixer and the liquid supply means wherebyliquid is supplied-when the mixer is operated and is regulated bytheoperator while the machine is running. The liquid is turned ofi whenthe mixer is stopped.

Otherandmore detailed objects-and advantages of th'epresent inventionwillappear as the 5 de cri on .nrccesd reiet nce, b i h d. tdthe,

accompanying drawings wherein preferred forms of the invention areshown. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings anddescription are illustrative only andare not-to be taken as limiting theinvention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view inside elevation of a lather mixing machine embodyingmy'invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontalsectional view through the machine shownin 1 takensubstantially on the line 22 of Fig. .3;

Fig. 3 is a'sectional view takensubstantially on the line 3 3 of Fig.2;

' Fig. 4 isa sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig.2, the valve and.switch operating levers being left ofi;

Fig. 5 is a rearview in elevation looking at the device in the directionindicated by the arrows 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is aview in side elevation of another form of the invention;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an end view with part of the housing broken away, looking atthe device shown in Fig. 6 from the lefthand side;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view through, the valve mechanism, the sectionbeing taken substantially on the line l0|0 of Fig.6;

Fig. 11 is a somewhat diagrammatic view illustrating a modificationwherein two rollers, one of hard material and the other of spongymaterial, are utilized in combination to perform the function of thesingle roller in the prefer'red'forms of the invention;

' Fig. 12is a fragmentary sectional view on the line l2-'l2 f Fig, 3;and

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line |3- |3 of'Fig.3.

Referring now in detail to thedr-awings, the present invention isembodied in a lather'mixing machine which comprises basically thefollowing parts: a housing I which may be constructed of any suitablematerial such as metal or a plastic composition. The housing I consists.of abody 2 which is open'at one' side, the open side being adapted to beclosedby a cover '3 that is secured in place by a screw cap indicatedat.4. Attached to the body 2 there is a liquid reservoir 5' which isadapted to contain an adequate supply-o'f'liqtaken uid for the lathermixing. .The bottom 6 of the 1 liquid reservoir 'is preferablysubstantially above the bottom of the body 2 so that liquid will readilyflow down into the bottom of the housing. The cover 3 for the body 2 isprovided with a lather outlet I through which the lather escapes and aguard or scraper Ia for wiping lather off the adjacent face of themember I4. The body 2 of the housing I also includes a rectangular tubeor guide 8 which extends upwardly from the body 2. The purpose of theguide 8 is to receive a bar 9 of soap which is fed down into the body 2by means of gravity. A second bar IU of soap may be inserted as soon asthe first bar is used sufliciently so that there is always an adequatesupply of soap in the machine.

Within the housing I there is provided a shaft I2 on which a hub I3 isrotatably mounted. The housing I is threaded at II to receive the shaft[2. The hub I3 removably carries a member I4 on which the soap bar 9rides. The material of the member I4 may be varied within the scope ofthe present invention. For example, a hard composition roller, 2. woodenroller or a soft surfaced roller may be used. In soft surfaced materialsI have used an absorbent cloth 'such as cotton toweling and spongerubber. One of the specific features of novelty of the presentinvention, however, lies in providing a resilient spongy surfaced memberI4 in this particular combination. For example, I utilize for the memberI4 a roller comprising sponge rubber in which the pockets or holes aremoderately fine, say about 3% of an inch and smaller in diameter. Thehub for the sponge rubber may be larger or smaller in diameter.Preferably the hub is made so it can be removed from a worn roller ofrubber and used for a new one. In the form shown the hub I3 has atapered head I3a that facilitates forcing the hub through a spongerubber roller having a central opening.

The member I4 is adapted to be rotated by a drive element [5 whichvinthe preferred form comprises a hard roller. The element I5 is mounted ona drive shaft I5 which extends through the body 2 and is driven by amotor II. The motor I I has a core I8 and an energizing coil I9 asillustrated best in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. The motor I1 is mounted on thebody 2 by means of suitable posts 20 and 2| and screws 22 and 23.

The surface of the drive element l5 may be smooth or grooved. I prefernot to use grooves with a sponge member I4. A smooth drive element seemsto adequately remove lather and excess water before the member I4engages the soap bar 9. This helps in preventing softening of the soapbar and causing it to get messy and stick in the tube 8.

The direction of rotation of the roller I4 is as shown in Fig. 3. Thewater is let into the body 2 at the bottom thereof. The surface of thesponge roller is close to or touching slightly on the bottom wall of thebody 2 and is moistened at that point. It will be noted that the waterinlet is opposite to the lather outlet. The lather is therefore wetterat the back near the water inlet and drier toward the front near thelather outlet.

Referring now to Figs. 6 to 10, inclusive, in this form of the inventionthe housing and reservoir constructions are substantially the sameinsofar as any functional operation is concerned The reservoir 5' ofthis form of the invention is, however, located a little differentlyfrom that in the first described form. The drive member and mixingmember I5 is also slightly different. In this case it is composed of adevice having substantially a square screw thread. In addition themember I5 is extended into the outlet I for the lather so that the screwthreads thereon actually feed the lather out through the opening 1'.

The guide means 8' is precisely the same for the bar of soap. It will benoted that in both forms of the invention the tubular guide 8--8 isarranged to provide an air space 3434 for air to travel down into thehousing around the stick of soap. It will be appreciated that air isbeing continually removed from the interior of the housing when latheris being made because the lather takes up air as well as water and soap.The air is in part drawn down through the guide 8-8 and this tends toprevent excessive wetting of the soap and to keep the guide clean.

The soap engaging member I4 in this form of the invention may obviouslybe a roller of any of the suitable materials hereinbeiore mentioned. Itis found that with a screw-like drive member such as the member I5 ahard surface roller I4 can be satisfactorily used. With the soft type ofroller such as sponge rubber it is desirable to use the type of drivemember I5 illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5. I prefer, however, in the form ofdevice shown in Figs. 6 to 10, to use the soft type or sponge rubberroller for the member l4.

The member 55 is driven by a motor I? and a drive shaft I6. Control ofthe motor l1 and of the liquid supply from the reservoir 5 is, in thisform of the invention, the same as the control shown in Figs. 1 to 5. InFig. 10 a detail iew of the valve housing 35 is shown. At the lower endof the housing 35 there is a tubular duct 36 which opens through theside wall of the housing close to the bottom thereof. A valve seat 3'!is provided in the bottom of the housing 35. This valve seat ispreferably of rubber and may be lifted out and replaced, as will bereadily I understood. A valve stem 38 has a tapered valve a mercuryswitch 56 of a well-known type.

39 at its lower end cooperating with the seat 31 to control the flow ofliquid to the duct 36. The valve stem 38 has guide means 40 thereon atits lower end and is guided at its upper end by a sleeve 4| which iscarried by a bracket 42 mounted on the top of the body 2'. The valvestem 38 is urged downwardly by a spring 43 which is under compressionbetween the bracket 42 and a pin 44 in the valve stem. At the top endthe valve stem 38 has a collar 45 and an adjustable nut 46 to receivebifurcated yoke 41 between them. The nut 46 is held in adjusted positionby a lock nut 45a. This adjustment is set at the factory and need not bedisturbed by the operator. The yoke 41 is used to lift the valve stem 38against the spring 43.

Means are provided whereby the yoke 41 is operated in conjunction with acontrol switch for the motor I'I. As shown best in Figs. 6, 7 and 9, theyoke 41 is attached to a shaft 48 so that by turning the shaft the yokemay be raised or lowered. The shaft 48 is supported on two spacedbrackets 49 and 5D projecting up from the housing I and extends acrossthe top of the housing being connected at the end opposite the yoke 41to an operating lever 5|. The operating lever 5| when depressed willlift the yoke 41. The operating lever also carries a lug 52 which isadapted to engage a corresponding lug 53 on a switch-carrying arm 54.The arm 54 is pivoted to the cover 3 by means of a stud 55 and carries Aspring 57 normally tends to hold the mercury switch 56' in open circuitposition as shown in iulllinesjin Fig.6 but "permitstheswitch to be,tilted to circuit closing-position as shown by'the .dotted linesin Fig.6 when the lever i is pressed "down. When lather is wanted by theoperator rhe pressesthe lever-5| down t'o'the dotted line pjos'itionshown in Fig. 6, thereby causing the "switch 56 to close a-circuit forthe motor l1.

1This movement of the lever 5| lifts the valve stem 38 more or less. Ifthe operator desires alarge supply of water, as in starting, hepresses'the lever down farther to open the valve wider. He can thusadjust the consistency of the lather to suithim. The spring 51 returnsthe lever 5| and the switch arm 54 to off position when the pressure onthe lever 5| is released.

In Fig. 11 there is shown a diagrammatic view of a further modificationof the invention. In this form of invention there are two rollers 59 and60. The roller 59 is preferably hard surfaced so as to remove a slightamount of soap from the bar 9. The roller 60 is of sponge rubber. Wateris fed to the surface of the roller 60 in any suitable fashion throughan inlet iii. The rollers are driven by a drive member l5".

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, and Figs. 12 and 13, theoperation will be briefly described. When lather is desired the operatorstarts the motor l1 and simultaneously opens the valve 39. The drivemember 15 will rotate the roller M in a clockwise direction as shown inFig. 3. Water flowing into the bottom of the body 2 is picked up by theroller l4 and carried up to where the member [5 engages the roller. Atthis point any excess water is pressed out of the spronge rubber so thata lightly moistened sponge surface is presented to the bar 9. The soapis wiped off of the bar 9 by the roller l4 and carried down to the pointwhere water is supplied by the valve 39. The water and soap are mixedwith air in the sprongy surface of the roller and form lather. Theroller l5 and the scraper Ia act to wipe the lather from the spongyroller and direct the lather to the outlet 1.

By supplying more or less water at the valve 39 the consistency of thelather may be varied to suit the operator. The elimination of excessmoisture in the sponge roller M before it strikes the soap bar avoidssoftening the soap too much and prevents the formation of excess latherat the surface of the soap bar to work up through the tube 8. If the barsticks in the tube the operator can readily press it down with hisfinger.

The operation of the other forms of the invention are believed to besufficiently described in the general description to be understood bythose skilled in the art. Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a lather mixing machine, a housing, a roller mounted for rotationtherein, soap bar guide means above said roller adapted to hold a bar ofsoap with its lower end resting on the roller, so that the bar is fed tothe roller by gravity as the roller, in rotating, rubs soap from thebar, and means in the housing engaging the roller and cooperatingtherewith to mix soap removed from the bar with air and liquid, saidroller having a yielding porous surface engaging the soap bar, and saidhousing having a discharge spout adjacent to said means for dischargingthe lather formed therein.

2. In a lather mixing machine, a housing, a soap bar wiping membermounted for rotation therein, guide means above said member adapted tosupport a bar of soap with its lower end rest ing upon the membenso thatthe bar-is fed :to

housing engaging said member and adapted to rotate -it, power meansdriving-said'last named member, and a manual control means for saidvalve operable to-regulate the flow of said liquid.

3. A lather mixing machine comprising in combinationa movingsoapwipingmember, a guide for abar of soap, said guide being positioned oversaid member and opento the member at its lower end whereby a bar of soapin the guide will be held against the member by gravity, a housing forsaid member, liquid supplying means supplying liquid to said member tomix with the soap on said member, and a driving member in the housing inengagement with the soaped surface of the wiping member and moving it bysurfaceengagement.

4. A lather mixing machine comprising in combination a rotatable soapwiping member, a guide for a bar of soap, said guide being positionedover said member and open to the member at its lower end whereby a barof soap in the guide will be held against the member by gravity, ahousing for said member, liquid supply means supplying liquid to saidmember to mix with the soap on said member, and a second rotating memberin the housing rotating in engagement with the soaped surface of thewiping member, said second member comprising the drive means for saidwiping member and said wiping member comprising a roller of spongerubber.

5. A lather mixing machine comprising a roller mounted for rotation on asubstantially horizontal axis, means to direct a bar of soap down uponthe roller under the action of gravity whereby the roller will rub offsoap from the bottom of the bar, and means engaging the roller formixing the soap thereon with air and water, said last named meanscomprising a second roller of spongy material, and drive means for saidrollers.

6. A lather mixing machine comprising a roller mounted for rotation on asubstantially horizontal axis, a housing in which said roller ismounted, said housing having a lather outlet in a wall thereof, means insaid housing to direct a bar of soap down upon the roller under theaction of gravity whereby the roller will rub off soap from the bottomof the bar, means to wet the surface of said roller, and a combineddriving and scraping member in said housing engaging said roller.

7. A lather mixing machine comprising a roller mounted for rotation on asubstantially horizontal axis, a housing in which said roller ismounted, said housing having a lather outlet in a wall thereof, saidroller having a yielding porous surface, means in said housing to directa bar of soap down upon the roller under the action of gravity wherebythe roller will rub off soap from the bottom of the bar, means to Wetthe surface of said roller, and a drive member engaging said roller.

8. A lather mixing machine comprising a rotating member having ayielding porous surface, a drive roller pressing on said surface torotate the member, means to apply liquid to said surface during therotation thereof in advanceof its engagement by the drive roller wherebythe pressure of said drive roller may remove excess liquid from thesurface, and means to pressa bar of soap against the porous surface ofsaid member following its engagement with said drive roller and inadvance of the application of the liquid thereto.

9. A lather mixing machine comprising a roller mounted for rotation on asubstantially horizontal axis, a housing in which said roller ismounted, said roller having a yielding porous surface, means to supply afilm of soap to said surface, and a member in said housing engaging thesurface of said roller, as it is rotated, and compressing said surfaceafter the film of soap a is applied thereto whereby to pressout bubblesLEO J. WAHL.

